Control
by ShadowJ51
Summary: Old enemies... old tricks... new problems. As the digidestined try to forget the darkness, will they be forced into what they fear most? And can they defeat this opponent themselves?
1. Awakening

Awakening

Shadow- "Hey, everybody! I've got a new story! And this one isn't part of the large series!"

Renamon- "Oh good. Are you going to stop posting every other day, then?"

Shadow- "Nope! I'll just work harder!"

Renamon- "... you're insane, you know that?"

Shadow- "Only if being a Jenova's Witness is crazy!"

Renamon- "Jenova? Isn't it Jehova?"

Shadow- "I know what I said."

Renamon- "Okay..."

Shadow- "Have you heard about the Life-stream?"

Renamon- "...you're creeping me out now... I'm so glad you don't own digimon..."

Shadow- "Way to get back on topic."

Renamon- "Thanks."

Shadow- "Wow, this intro's long... so I guess I'll get right to it. Please review after you read. Why does nobody do that? Oh, and enjoy!"

* * *

_Darkness._

_The cold, inky, and yet strangely comforting-_

_No! I can't think like that!_

_You know it's true._

_I'm not that person any more!_

_You are. You know it's true. Darkness waiting just beneath the surface... waiting for a chance to engulf you..._

_That's gone now! I'm not-_

_But you wish you were..._

_And again you will be..._

_What!_

_You and all your precious friends will fall... one by one..._

_No!_

_The only reason to resist the darkness... once they are gone, you will be consumed... and I will enjoy the taste of destined children once again..._

_Get out of my head!_

_You know what will come... though you cannot change it..._

_No!_

Ken sat up in bed, gasping for air, drenched with sweat. As he caught his breath, he heard a voice to his left.

"Ken? Are you okay?"

Ken looked over and saw Wormmon. Concern was etched into his small features.

Ken smiled slightly. "No, Wormmon... just a bad dream..."

This did not ease Wormmon's fears. "That same dream?"

Ken shook his head, sweat still dripping down his face. "No... something different... I don't know..."

Ken looked over at his bedside clock. He sighed. "It's close enough..."

He swung his legs off the side of the bed, and headed for his shower, the echoes of his dream still reverberating through his mind.

**school, computer lab**

Yolee sat in a chair in the computer lab, her eyes focused squarely on the computer screen. Her fingers nimbly typed away at the keyboard. Everything was perfect for an afternoon of typing. Except...

Thwak-bonk... Thwak-bonk... Thwak-bonk...

Yolee bit her lip, and tried to concentrate.

Thwak-bonk... Thwak-bonk... Thwak-

"All right! That's it!" Yolee yelled, standing up from her chair. She whirled around to face Davis, who had been bouncing a ball off the wall.

Davis blinked cluelessly at her. "...What?"

"Give me that thing!" she yelled, grabbing for the ball in Davis's hand.

Davis dodged left, narrowly avoiding Yolee. "Hey, with moves like that, you should try out for football!" (A/N: I'm using the American term here so people don't get confused... even though he'd say 'American Football' or 'Rugby' in reality...)

"Damn it!" she yelled, and lunged again.

Davis tried to dodged backwards, but succeeded in only flipping backwards over a chair... just as TK and Kari walked into the room.

TK looked from the extremely irate and deeply breathing Yolee, to Davis, who was hanging upside-down from the chair.

Kari laughed.

Davis looked over. "Aw, man..."

Yolee wiped the sweat from her forehead. "What are you two doing here?"

TK and Kari held up full knapsacks. "Going to the digital world, where else?"

Davis tried to get off the chair, and somehow managed to twist his head around the seat of the chair. "If Kari's going, I'm going!"

Kari laughed at Davis's new, and awkward, position in his chair ballet. Davis grinned, tried to do something more difficult, and fell to the floor. "Ow..."

TK and Kari were doubled over with laughter. Davis got to his feet, flushing. "I think I broke something..."

Yolee shook her head. "Right, as if we care... where's Cody?"

"He had some Kendo practice," TK answered between laughs, "but he said he'd go straight to the digital world when that was over."

Kari nodded in agreement. "Ken said he'd meet us there, as well."

"All right!" Yolee yelled, taking out her digivice. "Digiport open!"

Light poured from the computer, grabbed the four teens, and sucked them into the digital world.

**digital world, grassy plains**

Cody ran from the digital gate, still wearing his Kendo uniform, closely followed by Armadillomon. His yellow armored friend sniffed the bag he was carrying. "Hey Cody, you bring any of those rice balls?"

"Of course." Cody answered, still running to the meeting place. "How could I forget you and your stomach?"

Armadillomon laughed, as they came over a hilltop and found the others. TK was the first to spot them. "Hey, Cody, come on!"

The other four looked up. Davis smiled. "About time you made it!"

Cody ran up and sat down next to them. Armadillomon skidded, trying to stop, and plowed into Veemon, knocking the two digimon to the ground.

Everyone laughed as the two digimon tried to separate. Armadillomon freed himself and said "Thanks for being an airbag!"

Veemon shook his head, and said with his characteristic lisp "Sure thing!"

Ken shook his head, still chuckling.

Davis sighed. "Good, can we eat now?"

TK shrugged. "I gue-" but was cut off as every digimon, and Davis, dived for a bag. Rice and pieces of salad flew everywhere.

Yolee brushed a carrot out of her hair. "Well, I suppose a healthy appetite is a good sign..."

Kari nodded. "Yeah, but let's get some food before it's all gone!"

The remaining five digidestined dove in.

After a few minutes, the feeding frenzy died down. But only because the bags weren't edible.

Veemon sighed. "Dee-lichious..."

Davis nodded. "Yeah... time for a nap..."

A cloud passed overhead, putting the field in shadow. "Yeah..." Ken said.

Davis laid back on his back and sighed. He looked up at the cloud. "Hey, guys? Does anybody else think that cloud looks weird?"

The others looked up. The cloud was pure white, but seemed to have evenly spaced holes in it. It moved against the wind... and seemed to be floating downward.

As the cloud got closer, TK yelled "That isn't a cloud! It's a group of Bakemon!"

"A cloud of what?" Davis asked.

"Bakemon..." Kari said. "Ghost-like digimon... Myotismon used them against us..."

"Well, then let's give them a warm welcome!" Yolee yelled, taking out her digivice.

DIGIVOLUTION

"Veemon... digivolve to... Exveemon!"

"Hawkmon... digivolve to... Aquilamon!"

"Armadillomon... digivolve to... Ankylomon!"

"Patamon... digivolve to... Angemon!"

"Wormmon... digivolve to... Stingmon!"

The cloud of Bakemon swarmed downwards. "Zombie Claw!"

The hundreds of attacks overwhelmed the digimon, and they all de-digivolved back to their rookie forms.

"Run!" Davis yelled, stopping only to pick up Veemon, and ran towards the gate. The others quickly followed suit, following close behind as the Bakemon closed in.

"Digiport open!" Davis yelled, and the portal sucked in five digidestined and their digimon, leaving the Bakemon the swarm the area, filling the sky with darkness.

**school, computer lab**

Davis crashed into the chairs of the computer lab, followed closely by the four others. "Whew... we made it..."

TK shook his head. "That was weird... I've never seen Bakemon behave like that... not even when Myotismon was here... right, Kari?"

Nobody answered. TK looked around. "...Hey, where's Kari?"

**Unknown**

Darkness surrounded Kari.

A treacherous inky blackness on all sides, no matter where she turned, just darkness, just nothingness.

Just oblivion.

Footsteps echoed as is from far away. They got quieter and quieter. Soon they were just whispers in the night.

A figure faded in from the void. She gasped.

"No.. That's not possible... what's going on!"

"Relax..." the figure whispered in a sibilant hiss. "You won't feel a thing..."

She felt pressure on her upper arm, and something clamping down hard. Her mind quivered as waves of darkness swept over her. She gritted her teeth, trying to fight it off.

The figure chuckled. "Nothing can resist the infinite power of darkness..."

Her vision twisted, split into pieces, and finally disappeared as she drowned in the darkness, the last sound to reach her ears was the cold, hard laughter of the tainted figure before her.


	2. Mistake

Mistake

Shadow- "Grrr..."

Renamon- "What's wrong?"

Shadow- "I tried to write an intro already... but the computer refused to save it... now I'm writing a second one..."

Renamon- "You okay?"

Shadow- "Just annoyed... only one bit of news, anyway: I'm gonna be gone for a few days, so there's going to be no updates for a few days. But once I get back, I'll post some more."

Renamon- "Nice of you to warn us... especially since you don't own digimon."

Shadow- "...have you suddenly turned into the queen of intros?"

Renamon- "Umm..."

Shadow- "Doesn't really matter, I guess... but, readers, please R&R. It helps."

* * *

**school, computer lab**

"Damn it!" TK yelled. "How could we lose her again!"

Yolie shook her head. "I don't know... she was right in front of me..."

"Look, none of that matters!" Davis yelled. "We have to go back!"

"What about the Bakemon?" Armadillomon asked. "It'll take weeks to get the dents out of my shell..."

"It doesn't matter! We need to go now!"

TK nodded. "Davis is right. We can't let the Bakemon hurt her. We need to go right now!"

"It's decided then!" Davis yelled, shoving Ken aside from the computer. "Digiport open!"

The portal sucked first Davis in, then TK, Yolie, and Cody. Ken remained where he had been pushed to. Wormmon looked over at him, worried. "Ken? Are you okay?"

Ken closed his eyes, and immediately pain lanced from the back of his neck. The same voice from his dream flitted through his brain.

_You and all your precious friends will fall... one by one..._

Ken shook his head, and opened his eyes. The voice vanished, but the pain only faded, leaving only a dull ache behind. He rubbed the back of his neck, but felt nothing there.

"Ken? What's wrong, Ken?" Wormmon repeated.

Ken smiled shakily. "I'm okay... a bug just bit me..." he lied.

Wormmon nodded, accepting this, and turned back to the computer.

Ken shook his head, whispering so quietly that even Wormmon didn't hear. "What's going on?"

**digital world, grassy plains**

TK landed next to Patamon on the grass. He looked around, and quickly spotted the group of Bakemon, flying away.

"Patamon! Get them!" TK yelled, holding out his digivice.

"Right!" his winged digimon replied.

"Patamon... digivolve to... Angemon!"

"Hand of Fate!" Angemon yelled, burning into the cluster of Bakemon.

The remaining Bakemon ignored them, and continued to disperse towards the horizon.

"Need some help?" Yolie said, holding out her digivice.

"Hawkmon... digivolve to... Aquilamon!"

"You too, Armadillomon!" Cody yelled.

"Armadillomon... digivolve to... Ankylomon!"

Ken, who had just come through the portal, also held out his digivice.

"Wormmon... digivolve to... Stingmon!"

Aquilamon, Ankylomon, and Stingmon attack as well, deleting more of the cloud of Bakemon. The three digimon worked methodically, wiping out wave after wave of the ghost-like digimon. None of them turned around, and none of them retaliated.

"Damn it!" TK yelled. "They must have Kari!"

TK turned to his digimon. "Angemon?"

The angel nodded. "I'm on it!"

He flew towards the cloud, closely followed by Aquilamon and Stingmon. Their attacks lit up the sky for a few moments, destroying the densest part of the cloud. After a moment, TK spotted the three digimon returning empty-handed.

"What's wrong! Why don't you have her!"

Angemon sighed. "TK... she's not there... the Bakemon didn't have her..."

TK's eyes went wide. "They were just a diversion?"

Yolie looked around. "Hey, where's Davis?"

**digital world, grassy plain**

Because he was the first one through the portal, Davis was able to see some things that the others weren't.

He saw that the Bakemon had no-one with them.

He saw that the place they had been before was hidden just over a small hill.

The Bakemon were flying away from there.

Fortunately for Davis, it doesn't take much of a brain to figure out what was going on.

Davis ran up the hill, leaving Veemon behind, watching the cloud of Bakemon, memorized.

He crested the hill, and immediately saw what he was searching for.

Kari.

He grinned to himself, and looked back down the hill. TK was oblivious. _Ha! Too bad, blondie! Now's my turn to be the hero and rescue Kari! ...too bad Veemon doesn't digivolve into Ange-soccer-player, or something... now that would be the cool way to rescue her!_

He shook off these thoughts, and ran up to Kari. She turned to him, tears in her eyes. Gatomon sat nearby, and something was weird about her tail-ring... but that didn't matter to Davis.

"Kari?" He immediately asked, feeling heartbroken at her tears. "Are you okay?"

She sobbed once, then threw herself into his arms. He stood there in surprise as she sobbed into his shoulder.

"Oh, Davis, it was horrible... those things came down at me... and it was just darkness, darkness everywhere... I-I thought I'd never see anything ever again..."

And with that, she lifted her head off his shoulder, closed her eyes, and kissed him straight on the lips.

Davis's heart skipped a beat. Before he could react, say anything, do anything, he felt something push into his upper arm, just beneath his sleeve... and everything went black.


	3. Family

Family

Shadow- "Hello! and welcome to another chapter. Yes, another one. Already. Yes, this will become a trend."

Renamon- "I thought it already was."

Shadow- "That's the other story. Not this one."

Renamon- "But you make both of them, right?"

Shadow- "...yeah..."

Renamon- "So, shouldn't-"

Shadow- "Look, never mind, okay?"

Renamon- "Fine. Shadow doesn't own digimon."

Shadow- "Don't forget to R&R! You've been good about that so far, so continue the trend!"

* * *

**digital world**

TK looked around the grassy plain in the digital world. No Kari in sight. No Davis in sight. _Shit._

"Where the hell did he go!" TK yelled, half panicking.

Ken pointed over his shoulder. "I saw him climbing up that hill just as I-"

He was cut off as TK charged up the hill, but stopped short at the top. The others quickly followed up, but also stopped at the crest, seeing what made him freeze.

Davis was holding Kari close to him, and Kari was resting her head on his shoulder, whispering something.

TK stuttered for a moment, attracting Davis and Kari's attention. Davis grinned lopsidedly. "Uh... hi?"

Kari smiled. "Come on, let's go home." She and Davis turned to the portal, activated it, and were sucked in.

Yolie and Ken quickly followed, leaving Cody and TK alone.

Cody looked nervously up at TK. He hadn't moved, his face had turned white, and one of his eyes was twitching.

"Umm... TK? You okay?" Cody quietly asked.

TK shook his head as if to clear it, and looked at Cody. "Y-yeah... let's go..."

TK, followed closely by Patamon, walked over to the gate, and disappeared through it.

Cody looked at Armadillomon. "...do you think he'll be okay?"

His shelled digimon smiled. "Of course! He's the most hopeful kid I know! And, as a bonus, he always brings good snacks!"

Cody smiled. "You're always thinking with your stomach..."

Cody took out his digivice and followed the others back to the real world.

**real world**

Cody came back through the computer, landing next to a knocked over chair in the computer lab. Davis, Yolie, and Ken had already left, leaving TK and Kari alone in the room. Seeing this, Cody quietly slipped out, and walked off towards the school's exit.

TK looked nervously at Kari, who was standing over in a corner, watching the traffic pass. He cleared his throat. "Um, Kari?"

Kari looked over at him, and smiled faintly. "Yes, TK?"

He walked over and sat on the desk next to her. "Um... what were you and Davis doing... back there?"

Kari giggled slightly, catching TK off guard. "TK... are you jealous?"

TK flushed slightly. "Um..."

Kari laughed. TK raised an eyebrow. "You're acting kinda... odd, you know that?"

"I'm just happy." Kari said quickly.

TK sighed, looking down. "...about being with Davis?"

Kari patted TK on the shoulder. "TK... you don't even know what was going on..."

TK shook his head. "I saw enough..."

Kari sat down next to him. "TK... Davis and I are just... friends..."

TK shook his head again. "That's not what it looked like..."

Kari paused for a moment, then gently grabbed the back of TK's head, and pulled him close, kissing him.

His eyes widened. "Kari..." he whispered.

Kari's hand slid down his back, and reached into her pocket as TK kissed her again.

She took out a small black bracelet. Her hand started to reach upward, but froze as TK kissed her a third time. She gripped tighter on the bracelet, reached up, and snapped it onto TK's arm, just below the sleeve.

TK's eyes went gray, and he slowly slid off the desk.

Kari grinned.

**real world**

Jun, Davis's older sister, was sitting on the couch, watching television. Her eyes were focused on the screen, but she didn't react to anything on it, because she was absolutely, positively bored!

She heard the front door slam, and looked over. Davis walked into the front hall, and dropped his backpack, grinning.

Jun sighed. _When he grins, something bad is going on..._

"Hey, Jun-" Davis started, but was cut off by his sister.

"Why are you home so late?" she asked, still keeping her eyes on the television. "Mom's gonna kill you."

Davis kept grinning. "I had to make a quick stop... I figured since my day was going so well, I might as well make sure that the whole family had a good day!"

Jun sighed. "Whatever it is, I don't want to know."

"Okay..." Davis said, turning around. "...but I thought for sure you'd like a ticket to Matt's next concert..."

He immediately grinned when he heard a squeal of delight from behind him. He straightened his face out, and turned around to see that her full attention was on him. _Good._

"You got tickets! How'd you do that? They're always sold out!"

"First off: ticket, not tickets. Secondly, it helps to know the lead singer."

She grinned, jumped off the couch, and started jumping up and down chanting "Yes! I get to see Matty-poo!"

She suddenly stopped, and looked suspiciously at Davis. "Wait... there's a catch, isn't there..."

Davis shook his head. "Nope! And since I knew you'd act like this, I got you a present!"

Davis took a black bracelet out of his pocket, and showed it to her.

Her eyebrows went up. "Wow, that's so cool! ...how uncharacteristically... thoughtful of you..."

He nodded. "Yup! And I even got a matching one for Matt."

Jun squealed again. "Oh, how cool!" she took both from Davis and looked at them. "That's so romantic! Matt's going to love this!" She held it closer, looking at the outer edge. "... but what does it say there? It looks sorta... Egyptian..."

Davis shrugged. "I dunno... but why don't you try it on?"

As an answer, Jun slipped the black bracelet onto her arm, showing it at her bicep. Davis grinned again. She froze for a moment, then a grin slowly formed on her face. "Hey, Davis..." she whispered. "When's that concert?"

Davis grinned broader. "Tonight."

Jun laughed. "I better get going then... right after I get a long sleeved shirt on..." she nodded at the ring fitted snugly around her arm. "Don't want to give away any... 'surprises'..."

The two sibling laughed, as Jun went into her room to get changed, and Davis sat down at the table, took out two more bracelets, and waited for their parents to arrive.


	4. Concert

Concert

Shadow- "I'm in a good mood right now. I've realized how to end this story (YAY!) and I'm getting reviews on my other stories. (ALSO YAY!)"

Renamon- "...and they need to know that... why?"

Shadow- "No reason. I just want to share my happiness with the world!"

Renamon- "...are you on drugs, or something?"

Shadow- "Fanfictions are my anti-drug!"

Renamon- "I suppose that should be comforting... but, then again, since you don't own digimon..."

Shadow- "I will one day! I promise you that! Now, to the story! And remember to review!"

* * *

**real world**

TK slipped out of the computer lab. He paused to let Kari follow him out, then slid the door shut. The two looked at each other, nodded once, then headed in opposite directions.

TK ran towards the main entrance, and skidded to a halt when he saw Cody.

The youngest digidestined turned around, and saw TK there, looking happy. "What happened?" he asked.

TK grinned. "Something good..."

Armadillomon nodded. "Well, I'm glad that's all settled!" both him and his partner turned around to leave.

TK reached forward, and grabbed Cody by the arm for a moment. Cody stiffened, then relaxed.

Armadillomon turned around. "You okay, Cody?"

Cody grinned. "Yeah... I'm just fine."

His digimon paused for a moment, shrugged, then said "Okay... hey, where'd TK go?"

As an answer, the digimon felt something clamp onto his tail, and passed out.

**real world**

Kari opened the front door, slipped her shoes off, and slid inside. "Hey, Mom!" she called out as she closed the door. "Is Tai home?"

"No, sweetie!" rang her mom's voice from the kitchen. "He's at one of Matt's concerts! But I made enough three-bean salad so he can have some when he gets home!"

Kari frowned. "I forgot about that..." she whispered. She yelled back "Okay! I'll just wait for him to get home!" She slipped past her parent and into her room, where Gatomon was. Tai was not the only problem to solve tonight...

**real world**

Jun stood across the street from where Matt's concert was going to be held. Most of the older digidestined were going to be there. _Perfect..._

Jun looked both ways, walked casually across the street, and showed her ticket to the man at the entrance.

The man at the gate looked closely at the ticket. "A VIP, huh... hey, it says here this ticket belongs to a 'Davis.'" the man looked up at Jun. "And you're not Davis."

Jun sighed. "He's my brother."

The man crossed his arms. "Uh-huh."

"He couldn't make it tonight, so he gave me the ticket." Jun lied.

The man shook his head. "Sorry, missy, but if the name on the ticket doesn't match-"

"Let her in, Kei." a voice from behind Jun said. "She's Davis's brother."

Jun turned around, and saw Matt standing there. She smiled. "Matt!"

"Uh... hi..." Matt said.

The bouncer shrugged, and let the two teenagers pass.

Jun followed Matt closely through the crowd, but didn't manage to hear Matt mutter "I wish Davis had just thrown the damn ticket away..."

Matt walked through a series of doors, and finally got to the band set-up room. He turned around to see Jun still following him. He sighed. "Look, Jun, I know you have that VIP pass... but I gave that thing to Davis, and-"

Jun nodded. "Yeah. Dad grounded him. Again."

Matt shook his head. "That kid gets into way too much trouble..."

Jun nodded. "Yeah..." She looked dreamily into Matt's eyes.

Matt flushed. "Um... Jun... seriously, I need the space back here right now, so..." he said, turning around and connecting a guitar to an amp.

He suddenly felt Jun wrap her arms around his waist from behind. "Jun!" he yelled.

He felt one of the arms let go, but the other stayed firmly attached. He spun himself free of her arm, and turned to see her holding a black bracelet in her hand. "Jun, wha-"

She lunged forward, and snapped the bracelet onto his left forearm. He stiffened for a moment, then slowly grinned. Jun returned the gesture.

Matt chuckled quietly, turning to a small box in a corner. "Hey, Gabumon, come out for a minute..."

Jun slipped out of the room. There were plenty of digidestined to control...

**real world**

Matt quietly slipped out of his dressing room, and walked down the hall. There was still time before the concert started. And it was imperative that all of stage one was completed before then.

He entered the main room, where the concert was to be held, through a side door. After scanning the crowd, he saw that Tai, Ken, and Yolie were standing near the front of the crowd, all talking. He sighed. _Oh that's just great..._

He finished scanning the room, and finally spotted Sora near the entrance, leaning against a wall. By herself. _Perfect..._

He slipped around the edge of the crowd, making his way towards Sora.

When he was only a few feet from her, she finally turned, and spotted him. She smiled. "Hi, Matt."

He smiled back at her. "Hey."

They stood there awkwardly for a moment, before Sora said. "Matt... I... was hoping to see you before the concert..."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

She nodded. "Yeah... I... got you a sort of a... good luck charm..." She took a small necklace from her pocket, and handed it to him.

Matt smiled. "Hey, that's a coincidence... I got you a bracelet..." He reached into his pocket, and took out a black metal armband.

He reached for her arm. "Here, try it on... I want to make sure it fits..."

She watched him reach out with the bracelet. Her eyes widened. She quickly backed out of reach, her eyes frightened. "Matt... is that...?"

He made a sudden lunge for her. She fell over, and crawled away from him, screaming.

Matt turned around, and saw the three other digidestined look up. "Damn it.." he whispered.

He dropped the bracelet, and made a run for the door. Everyone ignored him, trying to see what was going on.

He slipped out the entrance, and looked back momentarily. The crowd of people inside was seething, everyone trying to get a look. A young girl managed to escape from the crowd, and ran towards him.

Matt smiled. "C'mon Jun. We need to tell the others what happened."

She nodded. "I know... can we get anyone else?"

Matt shook his head. "No... I dropped it next to her... even if they don't believe her, they'll see it... and call everyone else."

The teenage girl next to him cursed softly. "Let's go... we'll tell our brothers in person, and call the others. Okay?"

Matt nodded, and the two teens turned in unison and ran towards their homes.

**real world**

Tai dragged Sora out of the building, closely followed by Yolie and Ken.

The bouncer at the door eyed them suspiciously. "Hey, wh-"

Sora interrupted him. "They're friends. Relax."

The man shrugged, and walked into the building to try and prevent a riot.

Tai looked closely at Sora. "You okay? What happened? If someone did something to you, I'll-"

Sora shook her head. "No, Tai... it's worse... much worse..."

Tai frowned. "Worse? Wha-" then froze as Sora held up something.

"Matt came up to me..." she said. "..and tried to put this on me."

Tai blinked stupidly, looking at the bracelet. "...so?"

Sora shook her head. "Tai, look at it... don't you recognize it?"

Tai said nothing. Then Ken spoke up.

"I recognize it..." he said softly. "It's a dark ring... what I used to control digimon when I was the Digimon Emperor..."


	5. Calls

Calls

Shadow- "Not a long chapter this time, but it's still important. So... here you go!"

Renamon- "Shadow does not own digimon. For very, very good reasons..."

Shadow- "And after you read it, don't forget to R&R!"

* * *

**real world**

"I recognize it..." Ken said softly. "It's a dark ring... what I used to control digimon when I was the Digimon Emperor..."

Tai and Yolie were momentarily stunned. Sora nodded. "Yeah... and Matt tried to put it on me..."

"But... that's not possible, is it?" Yolie asked. "I mean... these things were used to control digimon, not people..."

Ken shook his head. "No, that's not correct... I could've used them to control you guys... but I still had respect for humans then... it's digimon I hated..."

Sora sighed. "But who could've done this? Myotismon is dead, and so are Arukennimon and Mummymon... there's no-one left..."

Yolie snapped her fingers. "Wait! What about Daemon? We didn't kill him, we just locked him inside the dark ocean!"

Tai nodded. "Yeah, it has to be."

"Yeah... but there's something else..." Ken said. "Who put the ring on Matt in the first place? He hasn't been in the digital world in a while... and neither has anyone else, for that matter... and there's been no natural gates openings since Blackwargreymon sealed our gate..."

Yolie shook her head. "No, that's not true either, remember? We went to the digital world earlier today..."

Ken sighed. "... and we lost track of Kari for a few minutes..."

Tai started. "What!"

Sora sighed. "This is bad... we should warn the others about this..."

Tai growled. "Damn it... I'll catch up with you guys later. I need to get home and get that thing off Kari!"

Tai ran off in the direction of his house as Yoile, Sora and Ken started making phone calls.

**phone records**

"Hello?"

"Hello? Izzy?"

"Sora! What're you doing? I thought you were going to Matt's concert."

"I did... but there's a problem."

"What kind?"

"Somebody attached a dark ring to Matt, and they're controlling him."

"What?"

"Izzy, somebody's... something's controlling him, and probably Kari and some of the others, too."

"Wow... how can I help?"

"First off, avoid contact with the others who might be controlled. Right now, we know that Tai, Yolie, Ken, and I are fine."

"Anything else? I could-"

"I'm sure you'll think of something, but just be careful!"

"But So-"

_click._

"Okay, fine then..."

**phone records**

"Hey, what's up?"

"TK? Listen, we need to talk."

"What about?"

"Matt's being controlled by a dark ring!"

"Um... okay... and?"

"Look, when he gets home, get it off him!"

"Um..."

_click._

"...that idiot..."

**phone records**

"This is Matt."

"Hey, it's TK."

"Hey. Wha-"

"You're such an idiot!"

"Wha-"

"They know!"

"...are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure! Yolie just called me to warn me!"

"...shit."

"No kidding."

"...look, let's all meet up in the digital world. We can't use sneak attacks anymore... so let's beat them down."

"All right! It's about time we took those fools on."

"Agreed. Now, you call Kari and Cody. I'll call Davis and Jun. We'll meet up in the barren lands."

"Roger that, brother."

"Till then."

_click._

_click._


	6. Escape

Escape

Shadow- "Hello again! Sorry for taking an extra day to write this chapter. (I got a chain letter as a review in my other story, and I wanted to adress that.)"

Renamon- "I still can't believe someone sent you that..."

Shadow- "I know... how gullible do people think I am?"

Renamon- "I think that's a question better left unanswered... just the sam, though, Shadow doe not own digimon."

Shadow- "And please remember to R&R!"

* * *

**phone records**

"He-llo, this is Tai."

"Hello Tai..."

"Kari? Is that you?"

"Listen closely. If you ever want to get your Kari back, you will meet us in the central desert of the digital world."

"Kari? Can you hear me? You've got to fight it!"

"Heh... you're too late... she's lost her battle with the rings..."

_click._

"Kari? Kari!"

**central desert**

The sand-blasted, lonesome portal sat idly in the sand, unused, forgotten. The screen flickered hopefully on. After a moment, five humans and five digimon fell out of the portal.

Tai stood up, shaking the sand out of his hair. "Well, that was easy. Good thing this is here."

Izzy shook his head. "You know, I always wondered why there was a portal in this place..."

Ken shrugged. "Why not? They're everywhere else..."

Agumon looked around. "Wow, that's a lot of sand..."

"Way to state the obvious..." Sora sighed. "Speaking of obvious, why isn't Mimi coming?"

Tai yawned. "More like oblivious. She yelled something like, 'Do you have any idea what time it is?' and hung up."

Yolie nodded. "Well, I guess we'll just do without her... big loss. So... where are we supposed to meet them, exactly?"

"Right here works." said a voice from behind them. The digidestined turned, and saw Matt, TK, Kari, Davis, and Cody with dark rings around their arms. Their digimon stood next to them, their eyes glowing red due to the black rings attached to them.

Matt grinned. "Foolish digidestined... Are you actually willing to attack your friends?"

Tai took out his digivice. The others followed suit. "Matt, listen, that thing is-"

Mat cut him of with a laugh. "You idiot! Don't you get it yet? The dark rings take over their minds. There is no escape."

"Well, then we'll just have to knock them off you!" Tai yelled.

DIGIVOLUTION

"Agumon... digivolve to... Greymon!"

"Tentomon... digivolve to... Kabuterimon!"

"Biyomon... digivolve to... Birdramon!"

"Hawkmon... digivolve to... Aquilamon!"

"Wormon... digivolve to... Stingmon!"

Kari smirked. "That's it? Well then... I guess we'll just have to finish this quickly... shame."

Black light flowed out of the controlled digidestineds' digivices.

TAINTED DIGIVOLUTION

"Gatomon... digivolve to... Blackangewomon!"

"Gabumon... warp digivolve to... Skullgarurumon!"

"Patamon... digivolve to... Blackangemon! Blackangemon... digivolve to... Blackmagnangemon!"

"Veemon... digivolve to... Skullveemon!"

"Armadillomon... digivolve to... Skullankylomon!"

"Devil's Arrow!" "Darkness Wolf Strike!" "Tainted Blade!" "Skull Cracker!" "Club Whip!"

The five attacks slammed into Greymon and the others. Greymon was knocked end over end, landed in a heap, and de-digivolved. The others fared slightly better. But only slightly.

Matt laughed, showing razor sharp canine teeth. "You idiots! You can't hurt us! Even if you could bring yourself to attack your friends-"

"Just shut up!" Tai yelled, his digivice glowing.

DIGIVOLUTION

"Agumon... warp digivolve to... Wargreymon!"

"Kabuterimon... digivolve to... Megakabuterimon!"

"Birdramon... digivolve to... Garudamon!"

"Terror Force!" Wargreymon's ball of energy slammed into Skullgarurumon, knocking him back. The skull-faced wolf gnashed its teeth and howled in pain.

The other digimon also attacked, rushing their now-evil counterparts. Wargreymon slashed at Skullgarurumon, knocking off his bony head. The wolf snatched it back up, clicked it into place, and growled "You're gonna pay for that!"

Blackangewomon slipped behind Megakabuterimon, and put him in a choke hold. "What now, buggy?" she whispered. In response, Megakabuterimon zapped a jolt of electricity through his body, shocking Blackangewomon.

Garudamon yelled "Wing Blaze!" and a fiery outline shot at Blackmagnangemon. The dark digimon whirled its sword in a circle. "Gate of the Apocalypse!" A black portal appeared, swallowing the attack whole.

Skullveemon roared, and bit Aquilamon in the wing joint. The feathered digimon screeched in pain, and began pecking furiously at the skull atop its foe's shoulders.

Stingmon's violet sword extended from his arm. He lunged at Skullankylomon, but was repelled by a swing of the armored digimon's tail. The two digimon began circling each other, looking for an opening.

Surprisingly, the digidestined got a lucky break. The five tainted digimon suddenly de-digivolved, leaving looks of confusion on everyones' faces. Fortunately, the good digimon acted quickly. In a few attacks, they knocked the dark rings off the digimon, freeing them from their evil influence.

"Umm... what just happened?" Ken asked.

Tai grinned. "It's just like with Skullgreymon! He used up too much power, and de-digivolved!"

"Please don't mention that..." Agumon groaned.

Izzy frowned. "I wonder if the darkness itself causes the rapid weakening... or if there's something else going on..."

"Who cares?" Sora said. "We won!"

Gabumon nodded. "Now Matt, it's your turn. Let's get that thing off you so we can all go home. Blue Blaster!"

Matt turned, shielding his upper arm, and took the attack in the small of his back. He grunted in pain, then laughed. "Too bad. I guess it's not over yet." He grinned again. "You'll never get these rings off us! Every time you try, we'll just take the damage elsewhere, until you give up... or your friends are dead!"

The five still-controlled digidestined laughed. Tai tried appealing to the good inside again. "Kari! Listen to me! You've got to get free! If you can just-"

Laughter in the air cut him off. "You should listen to your friends... they're right. You'll never free them! Not as long as I hold them!"

The laughter continued. Gatomon's eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute... I know that laugh..."


	7. Remember

Remember

Shadow- "Hello again, readers! Sorry for being late posting this... it's been a busy week. But don't worry! I've got a great new chapter for you!"

Renamon- "Well, it's new anyways... Shadow does not own digimon."

Shadow- "And don't forget to R&R!"

* * *

**central desert**

Just as the digidestined failed to remove the dark rings from their friends, laughter began to ring through the desert air.

Gatomon's eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute... I know that laugh..."

"Quite right, my dear pet!" the voice said.

"Myotismon!"

The image of the vampire lord faded into view next to Matt and the other four controlled digidestined. "Yes... and it is a shame that this had to happen. Just a few more humans, and no-one could have stopped me!"

"Well, it's too late!" Tai yelled.

Myotismon grinned. "Ah, but that's where you're wrong. You see... you five are the only ones who know what these..." he stroked the rings attached to Kari. "Beautiful... rings can do..."

Tai flushed. "You keep your hands off her!"

"Very well..." Myotismon answered. "But I'm afraid that I cannot allow any of you to leave here alive... considering what you know. Isn't that right, my pets?"

In one voice, the five children next to him answered "Yes, Master."

Myotimon smiled. "Good... now, to even the odds again... Grisly Wing!"

A stream of bats flew from the vampire's cape, and began biting Gabumon, Patamon, Gatomon, Veemon, and Armadillomon.

The five digimon cried out, but suddenly stopped. The bats disappeared.

"Veemon? Gatomon?" Ken asked. "Are you okay?"

In response, the five digimon turned around. Their eyes glowed red, casting an eerie light on their new dark rings.

Izzy gulped. "I think we're in trouble..."

**memory**

Kari floated in a haze. Her eyes fluttered open, but there was nothing to see. Just a slowly shifting white gas.

_What... where am I?_

She sensed something in her mind. Something decidedly... other.

_What's going on?_

She tried to peer through the mist, and was rewarded with a view of her brother and four of the others. Her eyes widened with shock as Wargreymon was knocked backwards by something that looked like Metalgarurumon... except decidedly evil.

_What on earth?_

She felt the other presence close in, and the image disappeared. She felt an oppressive aura descend all around her. Just before blacking out, she yelled "Tai! What's going on?"

**central desert**

Kari's mouth opened slightly, and a look of concern crossed her face. It quickly disappeared, however, and her mouth reformed into a smirk as Wargreymon was knocked down again. This time, the dragon warrior didn't get up, and instead de-digivolved into Agumon. The other four free digimon fell quickly, as well.

Myotismon chuckled. The chuckle quickly became a laugh, and he was joined by the other five controlled digidestined, including Kari.

Myotismon held up five new rings. "Now, I wonder who I should control first... seeing the looks of terror on the faces of the digidestined would be priceless as their digimon were controlled... but the looks of helplessness on the digimons' faces would be great as well..."

The vampire looked down at Kari. "Regardless, this is a moment to remember! Kari, if you'd be so kind?"

Kari nodded, reached for the chain around her neck, and pulled out her camera.

Myotismon snapped his fingers. "Wait! I've got it!" he looked back at Kari, and tossed her a dark ring. "Kari! Put this on your brother... and give me the camera so I can get a good shot."

Kari obliged, taking the camera off the necklace, and passing it to Myotismon. She then advanced on Tai.

Tai slowly backed away. "Kari, wait!"

Myotismon laughed. "That's it. Show all your fear and helplessness at once! I want to capture this..." he put the camera to his eye.

Kari walked until she was just inches from Tai's face. She grinned. "Don't worry, 'big brother'..." she whispered. "This won't hurt a bit..."


	8. Else

Else

Shadow- "Hello readers! New chapter. Again. (technically) the last one in the story... though there will also be an epilogue... which you need to read."

Renamon- "And that will be posted... when?"

Shadow- "It'll be short, so soon. Very soon. Don't touch that dial!"

Renamon- "...what dial? You know, on second thought, never mind. I really don't want to know..."

Shadow- "Aw..."

Renamon- "Okay, stupidity aside, Shadow does not own digimon."

Shadow- "Correct! And please R&R..."

* * *

**central desert**

Myotismon grinned maliciously. _It won't be long now..._

He watched as Kari slowly advanced on her older brother, carrying a dark ring in her left hand, ready to enslave him.

She paused just in front of him. Myotismon's grin widened.

As she continued to pause, Myotismon's smile flipped over. _What's wrong now?_

**memory**

Kari floated in the mist inside her mind. She tried to see the outside world, but was repulsed time and time again.

She sighed in frustration. _Fine. If I can't get out... I'll just go in!_

She flipped around, and dove into the center of the mist. She sensed something on the edge of her perception, and headed in its direction. She felt the presence try to slip away, and reached out to grab it. She heard faint whispers of thoughts in her mind... someone else's thoughts.

_It wants something... but what?_

She felt the presence sliding away, and made one last effort to get at it. Then she had it. She paused. _...what? Why would it want that?_

She was thrown violently away from the presence, and flew through the mist towards the outside world. She struggled to open her eyes, and saw Tai directly in front of her. With a black ring inches from his arm.

_What? No!_

The feeling of electricity coursed through her body as she tried to fight her way to help Tai...

**central desert**

Tai blinked. Kari had paused just before putting the ring on him. She stayed frozen in front of him. Her eyes seemed to soften. She whispered "...escape..."

Thinking fast, he reached for the ring on Kari's arm, and ripped it off.

Immediately, Kari's eyes rolled upwards, and she collapsed into her brother's arms.

"Kari! Kari!" Tai yelled, catching her before she hit the ground. He looked up, and saw Gatomon's eyes turn back to normal, and her dark ring fall off.

The white cat turned around and looked at Myotismon. "You're dead!" she hissed.

DIGIVOLUTION

"Gatomon... digivolve to... Angewomon!"

The female angel collected light in her hands, and formed a bow and arrow of pure energy. Myotismon sighed. "Damn it... not again..."

"Celestial Arrow!" The beam of light shot through Myotismon's chest, spearing right through him and deleting him with a horrible scream.

The dark rings on the others fell off, and the four children and their digimon shook their heads, free of the evil influence of the rings.

TK ran up to where Tai held Kari. "Kari!" he yelled. When she didn't respond, he asked shakily "S-she's okay, right?"

Tai smiled, and nodded. "Yeah, she'll be all right... let's go home."

The others nodded. As one, they walked up to the portal, Tai and TK supporting Kari. "Digiport open!"

The ten digidestined disappeared through the portal, leaving the eleven still intact dark rings behind.


	9. Epilogue

Duality

Shadow- "As promised, here's the Epilogue... and I have a request for the readers, as well."

Renamon- "Does it involve more reviews?"

Shadow- "In a way, yes. I'm not sure whether to continue this story past this point, or to end it here. So, here is what I want you to do: send me a review (or a PM) saying whether you think I should continue this. ('cause I think this works as an ending, but I also have ideas for stuff after this...)"

Renamon- "Hey, you're the boss... even though you don't own digimon..."

Shadow- "Right. So, you know what to do!"

* * *

**real world**

Tai lay Kari on her bed. He smiled softly, seeing her even breathing.

"Don't worry..." he whispered, more to himself than to Kari. "Everything's going to be all right..."

He got up, walked to the door, turned the light off, and slowly, quietly shut the door.

**real world**

Davis climbed into bed. He shifted around for a moment, got comfortable, and fell asleep.

Moments later, the light in his room clicked on. Davis drowsily sat up. "Whoser'?"

He saw his mom and dad walk up to him. "Waszup'?"

He felt something clamp onto his upper arm. He swayed for a moment, then grinned at his parents.

His mom ruffled his hair. "Don't worry... everything's going to be all right..."

Davis lay back down. His parents walked to the door, and his mom turned the light off. Just before closing the door, a black bracelet was visible for a moment on her arm. The door shut, and the room was plunged into darkness.


End file.
